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Electronic control of genes

25.01.2017

We usually don't like bugs and viruses in our digital gadgets, but that seems to be about to change. Scientists have found a way to control the genes of bacteria at the flip of a switch using electricity.

Synthetic biologists are happy to look for ways to connect modified organisms with electronics so that we have living devices and gadgets. The ability to create custom microbes to sense the environment and make biological molecules will be especially valuable for devices that will work inside our bodies, says William Bentley of the University of Maryland. For example, such a device could be used by a living organism to detect chemicals produced by disease-causing bacteria and to isolate the appropriate antibiotic.

In order for certain genes to respond to electrical stimulation, Bentley's team uses so-called redox signaling molecules. These biological molecules are found in all cells, and they are able to pick up and transfer electrons. The scientists also took advantage of natural genetic components in E. coli that respond to oxidative stress, which occurs when too many molecules in the body are oxidized.

To give an electrical charge, the researchers immersed the electrode in a liquid containing bacteria. When the electrode gives a positive charge, redox molecules are oxidized and trigger genetic mechanisms that respond to oxidative stress. With this procedure, Bentley showed how E. coli, when exposed to a discharge, float or begin to glow.

They also made a bacterium release a signaling molecule that makes another bacterium light up, thus showing that it is possible to design one set of bacteria to act on another set of bacteria when they are electrically discharged.

The procedure involves only a small "flashing" of bacteria with careful control of the process. For example, biosensors can be obtained in this way, where modified bacteria can recognize certain substances, for example, identify infections and respond with a glow. According to experts, it will take only a year or two to implement this technology, and then the procedure for merging biological and digital devices can be launched at full speed.

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European networks 100 Gbps 25.07.2013

Together with Japanese scientists, Europe plans to develop technologies for building local 100-gigabit networks and prepare the region for a multiple increase in Internet traffic in the coming years. The European Union and Japan have announced six joint projects, one of which is the STRAUSS project, dedicated to the development of fiber optic communication technologies that will allow operation at speeds up to 100 Gbps. This was reported on the website of the European Commission. In total, the volume of investments in all six projects will amount to 18 million euros.

"One of the projects is the construction of networks that will be 5 times faster on average compared to modern networks existing in Europe (providing data transfer speeds up to 19,7 Mbps)," the official statement says.

This is not about submarine cables that allow you to transfer data even at high speeds, but about networks that are as close as possible to ordinary households. In particular, the work will be devoted to the creation of inexpensive, fast and efficient in terms of power supply switches, software-oriented optical transmitters, and network management systems. The STRAUSS project is important for the development of the European economy, regulators say: from 2012 to 2013. the volume of data transmitted over networks has doubled, and by 2018 it will increase another 18 times. "To transfer such volumes, faster networks will be required," the statement said.

Today, some UK providers offer home connection speeds of up to 1 Gbps (the same as, for example, Google offers in the US as part of the Google Fiber project). The need for 100 Gbps does not yet exist, but these are needs that will arise over time, and Europe plans to prepare for them.

"In the future, the Internet should not know borders. At least the borders that have become the result of our slowness and unpreparedness," - said the Vice President of the European Commission Neelie Kroes (Neelie Kroes). Kroes has recently taken active steps to develop the European infrastructure: in May it announced its intention to significantly increase the output of semiconductor components in the region.

In addition, Europe and Japan are planning cooperation in the following areas: more efficient operation of radio frequencies; new mechanisms for protecting personal data in areas such as medicine; development of technologies for "smart" control of electrical networks, etc.

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